A Death in the Night
by MSquared79
Summary: The death of Howard Stark and the ripple effects it has on Peggy Carter, SHIELD and his family.
1. A Loss Almost Too Great To Bear

_A/N: I know, I have other stories that I should be concentrating on. But the plot bunnies, they've taken over since seeing Captain America: Civil Wars. Not really a crossover so much with the Avengers as it will touch on a lot of the MCU. I'm planning to throw in just about everything, including the kitchen sink. So, in the next few chapters, look for a lot of familiar faces, everything from The First Avenger to Agents of SHIELD._

 _For now, see if you catch a little drop which directly references events in Civil Wars. One characters words of wisdom, as it were._

A Death a Night

As the Director of SHIELD, getting late night calls was par for the course for Peggy Carter. So hearing Agent Fury's voice at nearly one a.m. wasn't off-putting. But what he said shook Peggy to the core. "There was a car accident reported to the authorities in upstate New York, Ma'am," he said.

"And what of it?" the crisp British accent asked back, only mildly sounding tired.

Fury hesitated, something that sent a shiver down her spine before he even spoke a word. Nick Fury was a superior agent. She saw a bright future for him, maybe even the directorship. Hesitation had never been his nature. Then, after a moment, he continued. "The victims...it was Howard and Maria Stark."

"Howard…? How is…?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the voice replied quietly.

It had been a long time since Peggy felt like she'd received a gut punch. She was only grateful that she was sitting down, because she knew she would have collapsed to the floor otherwise. "No...Not Howard." A flood of memories overcame her. They had been friends for nearly fifty years. They had been through so much, met their spouses and been parents in that time. It was unfathomable that he was gone.

"There's more," Fury continued, interrupting her thoughts. "While the locals think it was a simple accident, Stark losing control of the car and slamming into a tree, our guys have found some inconsistencies."

"What about Anthony?" Peggy asked, ignoring what he had just told her.

"Their son wasn't in the car," Fury answered patiently. He may be tough guy, but Peggy knew he was letting her absorb the news. Yes, that sounded right. Howard had told her he and his wife were going to the Bahamas for the holidays and Anthony had begged off, which had annoyed his father. Howard knew he'd get up to no good while they were away.

"Thank god," she sigh, though she knew it would be a devastating blow to the young man, who so the image of his father it hurt Peggy sometimes. That piece of news easing her heartbreak, she continued with what was at hand. "What are the inconsistencies?"

"The fatal injuries aren't consistent with the scene, the techs here confided in me. Mr. Stark...both victims have scrapes and bruises on parts of their bodies that our guys say they couldn't received from the accident." He took a breath. "Full autopsies will be conducted by SHIELD as soon as possible to verify this."

Peggy nodded. "Alright, I will inform Pierce, Carson, the World Security Council…" Her mind was going a mile a minute, trying to process everything that needed to be done. Then a thought occurred to her. "Has Anthony been told?"

A sigh came from the other side of the line. "I honestly don't know."

Peggy nodded. "I will make a few calls. Keep on top of this. Also, I want this to be seen publicly as merely an accident. If there is anything more nefarious, we will conduct a quiet investigation. Is that clear, Agent Fury?"

"Absolutely ma'am. I will see to it personally."

The call ended and Peggy at last allowed herself to succumb to tears. "Damn you, Howard. I really believed that you would live forever!" she shouted, her cheeks wet. It was still stunning to her. Never in a million years would she think this would be how the great Howard Stark would come to an end, smashed up on the side of a road. He'd been egocentric, vain, stubborn, driven, and yet, he had been there for those nearest and dearest to him _Except his son,_ a dark thought intruded. Anthony, as only she was allowed to call him (he extended the courtesy to Mr. Jarvis, but the proper English butler never permitted it himself), was every bit his father's son. That had been the reason they had always been at loggerheads since the day Anthony was born. Both were mechanically brilliant and both knew it. It was only Maria who could bring them together.

Peggy was still surprised any woman had tamed Howard. She knew, off-hand, the number of conquests Howard had made in his youth. But once he had set his sights on Maria, he was gone. Daniel had made a number of comments over the years about the spell Maria had placed on Howard to win him. But Peggy knew it was nothing like that. She had come into his life at a time when he was coming to realize the starlets weren't taking as much of a shine to him as they used to. Maria, nearly as brilliant as Howard himself, was able to catch and keep up with him for the same reason Howard had briefly been smitten by Whitney Frost when they were investigating her in '47. She had a brilliant mind. Yes, it didn't hurt that she was blond and beautiful, but Howard truly needed a keen mind to play off. And, since Peggy had never succumbed to his charms, he found them elsewhere.

She shook her head, trying to disentangle the memories that she was using to delay the inevitable. She had a job to do and a great deal of information to sort through. She decided the first thing to do was to find out if Anthony had been informed. SHIELD and all their muckety-mucks could go to hell until then. That led Peggy to try to make a painful phone call. No, she decided eventually, this was something that needed to be done in person.

It was a two hour drive in the middle of the night, but she made her way to the Stark mansion in Westchester County, by way of a surprisingly alert driver. Already, there were a number of cars parked along the winding driveway. Most looked official, as various authorities were on the scene. Once her car stopped, she exited as quickly as she could, wanting to get to her friends.

Upon entering the house, she saw Edwin Jarvis first. The older man, who had worked for Howard longer than even she had known the eccentric millionaire, was the picture of utter desolation. He was sitting in a chair in the foyer, utterly blank, his gold-handled cane set against an ornate side table. A medical technician was in front of him, kneeling on the floor. Peggy could tell the EMT was checking over him, as news such as this could have resulted in serious health issues for the a in his eighties. She went over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, sighing in relief when Mr. Jarvis was given a smiling nod.

"Mr. Jarvis," she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

It took a minute for him to turn his head and look up at her. "Miss Carter," he answered her, droplets escaping his eyes. He was the only person who still called her that.

She slowly knelt down next to him, placing her hand in his. The tears had returned for her as well, as she struggled to find her voice. "Anthony?"

"Young Mr. Stark...I don't even know where he is. I know that the police came to inform him...of his parents. But, that was quite some time ago. I have not seen him since," the aged butler told her. "He...he must be here...somewhere."

Anthony wasn't her main concern at the moment. Peggy didn't even think Mr. Jarvis had been this distraught when his beloved Ana had passed away from cancer eight years ago, so he had her full attention for the moment.

All of a sudden, the butler looked at her. "There is something not right with this scenario," he said. Edwin Jarvis knew Howard the best of any of his acquaintances, and she was unsurprised he had already made that deductive leap. "Mr. Stark was a natural, be it behind the wheel of a car or the stick of a plane. They say he lost control. But...it makes no sense."

Peggy thought for a long moment about what Nick Fury had informed her about when he made his initial report. Mr. Jarvis was right in his suppositions. But, for as much as Jarvis knew about his employer's covert activities, Howard had, in the last twenty years, taken great pains to keep his family out of SHIELD. He had seen Peggy do it for years after she and Daniel had married and had their children and he was determined to do the same. And Jarvis was much more than an employee. He and Ana were just as much Howard's family as Maria and Anthony.

Also, Howard still felt, as did Peggy, a twinge of guilt for what had happened to Ana in 1947. The other woman, as sweet as always, continued to try and assuage them all by saying, "This is God's will," taking to being a second mother to the young Stark boy, as she would never have children of her own. They had adored each other, and Peggy remembered the fourteen year old trying to hold back the tears at her funeral.

She squared her shoulder, putting on the face she wore as the Director of SHIELD. "Howard was many things, and not as young as he used to be was one of them," she said, trying to lead him off the path he was starting on. "I spoke to the police as I was being driven here."

"So you will accept being driven around now, Miss Carter?" he asked archly.

"When you are the director of an intelligence agency, at any age, you accept being driven around," she replied, frowning at him. "From their report, it seems as though he simply lost control of the vehicle. Nothing more." She hoped that was enough.

"You do not, for a second, believe that yourself," he retorted straightforwardly. "And do not lie to me. Your agency is in this house this very moment, going through Mr. Stark's files, cleaning out whatever he has that they do not want made public." He was indignant. "Very well, keep your secrets to yourself. It will come to no good end." With that, Mr. Jarvis seemed to have recovered. "You'll want to see you-Mr. Stark." With that, he was on his feet, fetching his cane and gesturing for her to follow him as they searched the grounds for Anthony.

They found him in the lab in the basement of the mansion. It shouldn't have surprised Peggy. So like his father to put his mind to use to cope with tragedy. It was how so many of Howard's inventions had begun, including Project Rebirth.

He must have heard them approach because he turned as they walked in. Peggy was not sure what his state of mind would be, it was quite surprising to her to see tears in his eyes. That was a trait he got from his mother. It was rare for anything to bring tears to Howard's eyes. Peggy heart broke even further as she opened her to the young man and he fell into them.

 _Next up: THOSE IN THE KNOW. There are many important people who need to be informed, but Peggy makes them wait. As Howard's death becomes public, she is swept up in memories, scrutiny and conspiracies. And there's a young man who needs her attention._


	2. Those in the Know

_A/N: Sorry about the delay, but I haven't been able to write for a while. I wanted to, but just have been. But here is the Next chapter. Lot of recognizable names, both from the past of the MCU and the more present say. And please, reply. I love to hear from my readers. A little comment can go a long way!_

Those in the Know

It was only slightly upsetting to Peggy that it took nearly a bottle of Howard's best Scotch to finally get Anthony to go to sleep. But as the sun rose, the young man at least seemed to be asleep, under the watchful eye of Mr. Jarvis, who also insisted that Peggy stay at the mansion. She only lightly protested before retreating to Howard's office to conduct at least some of the rudimentary functions of her job. She got a status update from Agent Fury, which didn't amount to much more than what he reported initially. Next, Peggy knew she should get in contact with at least Pierce, but she actually found herself dialing her son's phone number instead.

She was thankful Michael answered on the first ring, and that he knew her so well. "It's too early for you to be calling with good news, Mother," he said.

The last time he had gotten a call this early from her had been when his father had died. Daniel had been crossing a street in Manhattan when he had been struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, one that had never been identified. Michael had been overseas on his annual Army Reserve duties and was on the next military flight back to Stewart.

That painful memory brought forward took Peggy out of the moment, but she recovered her wits. "I thought you should hear it from me before it was broadcasted on CNN. Howard died early this morning," she informed Michael.

There was silence on the other end of the line before he asked her, "How are you doing?" Michael had always been the one to look out for everyone else. It was a skill that he put into excellent use when Anthony was born. Nearly twenty years apart in age, but they were like brothers.

"I'm...coping," she answered him.

"No stiff upper lip?"

She shook her head. "There have been quite a few tears, as a matter of fact. Anthony…"

"He was so close to Aunt Maria. His father, on the other hand." Michael's voice trailed off. There was another pause and she knew he was searching for another topic. "How did it happen?"

"Car crash. The police think he may have swerved to miss a deer," she lied smoothly, although her conversation with Mr. Jarvis the night before seemed to indicate that that particular skill was waning in her later years.

Proving herself correct, her son said, "Car crash? Is that the story you're coming up with?"

Peggy let out a sigh. She could try to lie to Anthony, Mr. Jarvis, hell, Daniel. But her children, Michael especially, always saw through her. "Michael, it's still early days. I...we don't know what to think. They were heading to the airport for a holiday. Is it really plausible to think some assassin knew that, knew the route he'd be on, to have him killed?"

"'They'? Oh, no, not…" Her son's voice broke a little bit.

She was fighting her emotions hearing her son's collapse. "Yes, Maria was in the car with him. She didn't make it either."

"Have you called Lizzie?" She knew her daughter was in Seoul inspecting Stark Industries' newest plant. She had become quite a respected scientist, one that Howard would have snapped up even if she hadn't been the daughter of his oldest friend.

"No, you were my first phone call," Peggy informed him.

"Then let me reach out to her. You have enough on your plate as it it. Have there been any arrangement made?" came the next question.

"Not yet. Anthony...we just got him to sleep. He needs to rest before anything can be planned. I was hoping you could get here as soon as possible. If he becomes difficult, maybe you can be there for him?"

"I'll be on the road as soon as we hang up. It'll be a couple of hours, though," Michael said. He was down in DC, an analyst for the NSA. It was the closest he could to following in his parents' footsteps that Peggy would allow. She had made it her life's mission to not have her children be part of SHIELD.

She nodded her head. "That will give Anthony time to sleep and me to get in touch with those who need to know." Alexander Pierce and Gideon Malick were at the top of that list, followed by Jason Wilkes. He'd been part of Stark Industries for forty years and had risen to being only second to Howard in the running of the company. In fact, in the last twenty years, he had pretty much run the whole conglomerate. Howard was busy with this two other babies, SHIELD and his son, though it was the former that seemed to give him an easier time. "I'll see you in a few hours then. Be careful." She had lost too much the night before to cope with losing anyone else.

"Always, Mother. See you soon," her son assured her and ended the call.

Peggy depressed the disconnect and dialed a secure line. After three rings, the call was picked up. "It's very unusual for you to call me on this line, Director Carter," Alexander Pierce's voice replied back.

"What I have to tell you is for your ears only for now. I'm also going to contact Malick at the WSC," Peggy answered. "Howard Stark and his wife were killed in the car crash last night."

"What?!" There was a sound of shock radiating from his end. Then, he asked just as quickly, "What happened?"

Peggy repeated what she had told Jarvis and Michael, but this time, added in Fury's report about the suspicious nature of the scene. "Publicly, this will be a tragic accident," she concluded.

"But you don't think that." It was a statement, not a question.

"First instinct? No, I don't. But I can't think of who would want to kill Howard at this point in his life. If it was during the war, it would be more obvious. But Hydra's been dead for nearly half a century. The Soviet Union is not more, which makes the KGB toothless. Howard's never seen any other rogue nation as that great a threat-"

"Isn't your daughter Elizabeth working on something for South Korea? Maybe Kim Il-sung is flexing his muscles," Pierce suggested.

"I suppose, but they are so tied to the Soviet Union, they're in no shape for any power play," Peggy retorted harshly, frustration and a little bit of panic creeping into her voice. The last thing she needed was to begin worrying about her daughter. "Sorry, I've been up since one in the morning."

"I'm a big boy. I understand you're under a lot of pressure. Because of that, I'll help you out. Let me contact Malick. I know he and Stark had their issues. He may make an unsavory comment you won't like. Besides, considering how close you and Stark were, it might be best if you took care of his personal friends and I'll handle the bureaucracy he was involved in." It was a kind suggestion and would be a relief to Peggy, but she felt it was her duty to be the bearer of bad news. She was about to turn him down when he insisted, "Please, let me help you."

Taking a deep breath, she agreed. "It would be a great help. Thank you, Alexander," she told him as she ended the conversation.

Before continuing with her calls, Peggy got up to stretch her legs a bit. She walked around the study and let out a little laugh. Yes, she had been in this room, in most of the rooms in this house, but it was the first time she noticed there were no portraits of the owner on any of the walls. She wondered if that had been Maria's influence, or if he had just calmed down in his later years. She couldn't help but notice, however, that there were a glut of photographs on every conceivable surface in the room. Besides his wedding picture, there was one of Jason Wilkes and his wife, Daphne and, towards the back, one of her wedding to Daniel.

That took her back. On the day of, Howard had comically tried one last ditch effort to bed her, right in front of the groom! And he was the best man! It was all done with a wink and nodded, and truth be told, Peggy had appreciated it.

Then, he turned to her in all seriousness. _Cap would have approved,_ he told Daniel. Her new husband had always known there was a place in her heart that would eternally belong to Steve Rogers. _Besides, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here,_ he informed her. When both Peggy and Howard had given him startled looks, he went on to inform them he had been a prisoner at the Hydra facility Rogers had rescued Barnes and dozens of others from.

It was a fact that neither had even known in all the years he had worked with them. Peggy knew he had served in the European theater of the war but Daniel had never divulged anything beyond that to her. _Because I always saw that look in your eyes when his name is mentioned._ He turned to Howard. _Both of you. He was a big part of your lives. I didn't want to use it to be part of your private club._ It was the last time it was mentioned ever again. Their children didn't even know that Captain America had rescued their father from a prisoner of war camp, even though they knew their mother had worked alongside him during the war.

Peggy smiled sadly as she turned her attention back to the telephone. She sat back down and dialed another number. "Please put me through to Dr. Wilkes. Tell him it's Peggy Carter." While she waited to be connected, she turned on the television. CNN popped up and, sure enough, the top story was the death of Howard and Maria Stark. When Jason's voice came through, Peggy lowered the volume to hear the man clearer.

"We just got word," he said. "It's a terrible loss."

"I'm sorry you didn't hear it from me," Peggy apologized.

"If I was fifth on you 'to-do' list, I'd be happy," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, someone else offered a hand, so you moved up to third," she replied, a smile briefly flashing on her face.

There was a small chuckle. "Where are you now?" he asked her.

"I've been at the Stark mansion since early this morning, balancing security concerns here with concerns for Mr. Jarvis and Howard's son," she informed him. "Both are devastated, of course. In fact, when I got here, there was an EMT giving Jarvis a once-over." She glanced over at the TV screen. "How are things on your end?"

"Stock market's going to panic at the opening bell, naturally. Howard was a big mover and with his death, there's the natural uncertainty that come with it. Plus, Tony's seen was very young and untested. I'm not a young man and Howard knew that. He told me to delegate a lot of responsibility to Obadiah Stane. And that was something I don't think Howard entirely approved of himself."

"Well, whatever their differences, Howard saw Anthony as his successor. I'm sure he had his plans to groom him," Peggy suggested.

"You mean have me groom him," Jason corrected.

But Peggy didn't hear him. The anchor, in his report, implied that there seemed to be more to the accident than the authorities were revealing. "It has been noted that SHIELD Director Margaret Carter, a long time friend of Stark's, has been at his residence in Westchester County, New York since shortly after the accident happened."

"Jason, I'm sorry but I have to go. Something's come up," she said.

He must have heard the television through the connection, because he informed her he would be there as soon as he could before getting off the phone. Peggy was just about make another call when she saw Tony peek into the study. "Do they really think this was kind of conspiracy that got the old man killed? God, just because it's Howard Stark doesn't mean some superspy assassin was out to get him," her godson moaned. "I mean, I'm right, aren't I? Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar."

 _Next Chapter: Good Intentions. Peggy shares some memories, an old friend of Howard's comes to call (without his gun this time!) and a young agents shows his mettle and promise to the Director of SHIELD._

 _I'm also prepping the first the first chapter of another story, "A Helpful Hand from and Old Friend," also set in the MCU. Look for it soon (having technical issues, but hope to get a response to them and cleared up fast.)_


End file.
